Deputy Minister of Social Development Ganief Hendricks has reassured residents that they are working on an intervention to reduce long queues at the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) offices and pay points.

This followed his oversight visit to the Gugulethu Sassa office on Monday, January 13.

The deputy minister assessed and reviewed the queue management services and how it can be improved to curb long queues that are experienced in Gugulethu and other areas.

Centre manager Dineo Manne took Mr Hendricks and other officials on an office tour to explain the operation and how they have managed to decrease long queues in Gugulethu.

Speaking to the media, Mr Hendricks said through his ministry there will be changes in how things are done to apply for social grants.

He vowed to mobilise for more resources to curb long queues and enhance turn around times at Sassa offices across the country.

He said the Minister of Social Development, Sisisi Tolashe is concerned about bringing services to Gugulethu and surrounding areas.

“The message we are getting is that government services are not reaching especially the residents of Gugulethu and surrounding areas, also Delft where the minister did an oversighting,” said Mr Hendricks.

“She is also concerned about long queues and people standing in queues from 4am in the morning and bringing a bucket with them because there are no toilets. That is completely unacceptable.”

He said the minister wanted to start with a roll-out plan for more offices and pay points as there simply were not enough

"This is causing hardship for too many people. There are not enough offices to cater for 20 million people,” he said.

To curb the long queues, Mr Hendricks emphasised the importance of digital migration for his department as they won't have enough offices for the whole county.

“We have to move to digital. One of the suggestions is that there needs to be online services for Sassa services and to apply and to raise your enquiries so the IT department has a very important role to play. Our IT department should play a huge role in eliminating the queues and to create efficiency,” he said.

He was, however, concerned about cyber crime and said there have been attempts to hack Sassa systems.

After the tour of the offices and speaking to the recipients, the deputy minister said he was impressed with Gugulethu.

“I have listened to the steps taken by Gugulethu. I am very impressed and Gugulethu can be a model for the rest of the country when it comes to providing services and providing Sassa services. We are very grateful for the support of the local councillor in particular.”

He committed to ensuring accountability in the implementation of a comprehensive action plan aimed at supporting the rights of individuals with disabilities.

Ms Manne said people come first in her offices. She said grants are approved at the same time as long as people are carrying the necessary documents. She said with the help of applicants, they have managed to curb long queues.

Gugulethu centre manager Dineo Manne showing the visitors a screen used to call social grant recipients.

Ganief Hendricks has vowed to decrease queues at the Sassa offices and pay points.

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